


Lucidity

by windyautistic



Category: Green Lantern (Comics)
Genre: Gen, Possession, author will be arrested for em dash crimes shortly, horror-ish vibes, parallax being a Creepy Motherfucker, unreality
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-05
Updated: 2020-08-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:07:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25724839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/windyautistic/pseuds/windyautistic
Summary: (Takes place during Green Lantern: Rebirth)Hal grasped for the memory of what had happened (Not losing time- not again), of the Spectre's revelation, of Parallax-Parallax.That he hadn't been the one to...to...But then why was he here?Hal pushed himself to his feet, feeling the ashes clinging to his hands. He brushed his hands against his flight jacket, and took in his surroundings.The empty crater stretched on to the horizon, and the sky was pitch-black, without a single star.There was nothing here.And it couldn't possibly be real.Hal started walking.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 14





	Lucidity

It was like being plunged underwater. Hal couldn't see anything- couldn't feel anything- couldn't breathe- the darkness pulled him down-  
down-

down-

down-

HURTS-

The BURNING (-flames, sunlight, answers-) woke Hal up, as he struggled to pull his thoughts from the clinging darkness.

Awareness came back in pieces. He wasn't burning. He wasn't drowning. He-  
The dry wind drove the ashes against his face. The silence stabbed through him as Hal realised where he was.

Coast City.  
An empty crater.

Hal felt the ground hit his knees. He couldn't be here- it wasn't even here anymore-

**"-The truth about yourself-"**

_**"Parallax lives."** _

Hal grasped for the memory of what had happened ( _Not losing time- not again_ ), of the Spectre's revelation, of Parallax-  
_Parallax._  
That he hadn't been the one to...   
to... 

But then why was he _here?_

Hal pushed himself to his feet, feeling the ashes clinging to his hands. He brushed his hands against his flight jacket, and took in his surroundings.  
The empty crater stretched on to the horizon, and the sky was pitch-black, without a single star.  
There was nothing here.  
And it couldn't possibly be real.  
Hal started walking.

The dust swirled around him, and Hal caught glimpses of figures out of the corners of his eyes. The urge to run, fly, _get away_ burned at his feet. Hal shoved it down, and tried to take stock of what had happened as he marched forward.   
The League had intercepted him at Ferris Air, there was something wrong- ( _His fault again?_ )   
John had attacked them- ( _Why?_ )  
The Spectre had pulled him away to Coast City- ( _It was back. Empty, but back. This could not be right._ )  
It had told him about Parallax, the truth-  
The truth.

He saw (felt) his shadow stretching in front of him. There was no light here.   
The shadow's (his) hands reached up, off the ground, fingers stretching into claws as they grasped his shoulder. The shadow's face leaned in, becoming more and more a reflection of his own face. Smiling.  
Hal couldn't move.  
The claws dug deeper, and the world blinked.

_He grinned, teeth sharp. The Guardian was here. This would be fun. He pulled his puppets towards the Guardian, drawing out their fears, striking fast; but they were cut off from him by that insignificant relic's move. No matter. The game would continue._

Hal struggled, unsteady. The sense of doing-but-not-doing ran under his skin, and he couldn't shake it as his awareness came back to the crater. (He could still smell fire.)   
His doppelganger smiled at him, eyes glinting yellow.   
Hal still couldn't move. The doppelganger only smiled wider, the grin spreading beyond its face.

"You..." Hal said, straining to move. "You're Parallax."

Parallax let go of his shoulder, and Hal fell to the ground. It was laughing.

**_Finally, you see me!_ **

Its voice was his own, but it scratched against his ears and turned his blood cold as it passed.

_**My precious host.** _

Hal pushed himself to his feet, his legs shaking against his will.  
Parallax grinned.   
Hal steadied his feet under him. And he launched a punch at Parallax's face.

Parallax laughed with altogether too many sharp teeth, thick yellow blood running down its face.

 ** _Isn't it a little too late to be fighting?_** It whispered, looking side to side at the figures emerging from the dust.

Hal suppressed a cry, holding perfectly still as he watched the Lanterns he'd killed surround him.  
They were talking, whispering, shouting. It pounded in his skull, only amplified by Parallax's hissing laughter in front of him.

Hal held still. He couldn't- couldn't- couldn't-  
Parallax was still laughing. The world blinked again. 

_Oh, the Justice League was going to_ stop _him? Their fear was already growing, holding them in place, making them_ weak _. He smiled, catching Superman's punch, thrown too hastily to hit. His grin grew wider. **"Fear me."**_

There were more ghosts. More voices. They were screaming. ( _at him._ ) Hal fell to his knees.

Parallax stood over him, looking down.

_**Is that all you have?** _  
_**Then just GIVE UP.** _

Hal staggered to his feet. He couldn't fight. He could barely move.  
But he _would not_ give up.   
He had to have the _will._  
Parallax hovered above him, its cape cracking in the harsh winds.

Hal's will was a spark.   
He dug deep, dragging the memory of the sun, of _light_ (of BURNING) to the surface.  
That was the fuel.   
_Beware my power._

The light BURNED, and Hal felt himself coming apart at the seams.   
He pushed on.  
The ghosts fell to dust as the light rushed out past them.  
Parallax SHRIEKED, and Hal felt it scrape his bones.

Finally, everything was empty. Silent. But not dark.   
Hal remembered the stars. And so the stars were here.   
This place wasn't real.   
It was _his._

Parallax was still in front of him. It was battered, with sparks of yellow flickering under the spiderweb of cracks in its armour.

**_You think you can defeat me? My PUPPET. You're NOTHING._ **

No.   
He was Hal Jordan.  
And he would not lose.  
He remembered the sound of jet engines, the feel of the throttle, and the sense of motion.   
And it SLAMMED into Parallax.

And the world CRACKED.

Reality splintered, and Hal reached through.

**Author's Note:**

> this was written straight through in two days in a fit of either pique or inspiration. scholars are still debating which.


End file.
